Mutated

Summary: The world has been devastated by chemicals. The human genome has mutated. Vampires thirst for blood. Mutated humans long for a cure. Two children must find her; the one girl who can save the world.

Chapter 1

Beep.
Beep. Beep. Beep.

The alarm clock rang out in the
darkness.

Beep.
Beep. Beep. Beep.

A hand reached out and suppressed
the noise, hitting the stop button on the top of the alarm. The girl sat up and
rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She swung her legs off side of the bed,
pushing back the covers, and focused on the green light that seeped through the
crack underneath the door, signaling the start of another day. Once her
eyesight adjusted, she rose up out of her bed and headed for the bathroom.

Upon entering the tiny space, a
dim light automatically flickered on above the mirror. She opened the magnetic cabinet
against the wall, and retrieved a toothbrush with a small white tube of toothpaste.
She gazed at her cream colored complexion as she robotically brushed her teeth,
using as little water as was possible. Next she picked up a brush on the shelf and
combed through her golden brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. Finally,
she dressed herself in jeans and a blue shirt.

The light in the bathroom went
off as soon as the girl crossed back into her bedroom, but no other lights
turned on from her movement across the floor. A bell rang in the hallway
outside, a reminder that it was time to leave. The girl zipped up a black
jacket, stopping at the nape of her neck. She grabbed a beige messenger bag and
slung it over her head, checking to make sure her books were snugly inside. Fastening
the button, she grabbed a smaller black bag that hung on the wall of the door, of
which she stuffed with sealed bottles of water and packaged nutrition bars from
a brown cabinet nearby.

Slinging the black pack over the
same shoulder the messenger bag rested on, she opened the door and stepped into
the hallway. The green light above her door changed to orange, as soon as it
closed behind her. The hallway was filled with doors, just like hers with
lights above each one. Some of the lights were already colored orange, while
some were still green, but one door stood out among the others. This door had a
red light above it, on the right side, at the end of the hallway. She didn’t
pause for this uniqueness even though she noticed the change, but turned in the
opposite direction and made her way down the hall to the nearest stairwell. As
she passed the green lights, some of her neighbors appeared from their rooms,
dressed in the same manner as she. They didn’t say a word to one another as
they followed the same path.

The stairwell was dimly lit,
and bleak in color. There weren’t any windows or art décor. Some of the others
nodded hasty greetings, but still no words were spoken. The only sound was that
of feet, pattering down the tiled stairs. They all carried books and bags, all
of which were the same colors and designs. The pack headed in the same
direction, down into the lower levels of the building they lived in.

The girl reached the main
hallway from which traffic between the interconnected stairwells and buildings converged.
This particular walkway stood out among the other halls in her dorm, mostly
because of its characteristic white walls and the pristine black marble floor
that separated the building from the residential units. Flat screen panels
lined either side of the main juncture. They were mounted side by side, and
each one was designated for a particular news station. Some among the crowd
stopped and listened to the broadcasts, while others continued onward. The girl
continued on past the electric news boards, not bothering to look up and
acknowledge the automatic presence. Despite the lack of attention she gave the
media, she still heard the broadcasts blaring from the displays.

“The New Regulatory Commission
announced their candidate for President this morning, confirming a push to make
blood typing mandatory for all citizens. Merrick Hall was all smiles as he
waved to the crowd…” one news lady reported.

“It has been confirmed that
disease plagues Asia and the Indies. We have reports of the virus taking on new
biological changes. How will these changes affect us? We can only hope to stop
the spreading pandemic that has swept the world…” an anchorman spoke from
another television.

“The Vampire Council seized
control of the government early this morning, demanding that the remaining
humans follow a set of strict rules. Everyone must report to the blood centers
for aid in the search of finding a cure for the mutated genome. All students
within agency owned laboratories are exempt from this rule…” another news lady
announced.

The girl swallowed her tension and
hurried on down the hallway, in order to escape the news briefs. She turned
down another hall that branched off the main one. This hall was lined with
small teal and green tiles on the walls. The ceiling too was green, albeit a
sickly green, but the floor kept its shiny black. Dark blue metal doors, with
tiny windows set into the middle, were scattered along the walls. Cameras
dotted the ceiling, at every corner and every juncture, focusing on every part
of the hallway, the rooms, and the exits.

The girl opened one of the
doors labeled 6J, and hurried on into the room. Several students were already seated
at the blacktop tables. She sat next to a boy who looked near her age. A black
beanie covered the top of his semi-short blond hair, but it didn’t do a good
job as tufts of straw stuck out from underneath the hat. His arms were crossed
as he leaned on the table top, covered by his long sleeved grey shirt. The
frayed ends of his light blue jeans met a worn pair of running shoes. His
boyish face glanced at the girl as she sat down.

“Did you hear the news?” he
whispered.

Her green eyes glanced at him
sharply. She didn’t respond to his question. Instead she nodded her head
slightly by tilting it upwards.

The boy bobbed his head in
understanding her gesture, knowing it wasn’t the appropriate time to talk.

The classroom slowly filled up
with people. Several minutes later another bell chimed in the hallway and
everyone broke into hurried chatter.

The girl began before he could
speak. “Why do you have to break the rules, James? You know what’ll happen if
you get caught,” she stressed.

Meygan shook her head. “You
always say that, but you’re not…” she stopped suddenly, as she didn’t want to
express her thoughts.

James studied her face. “Not
what? An alpha student?”

Meygan blushed, but remained
silent.

“Believe me, regardless of my
caste, I’m safe,” he smugly stated.

Meygan shook her head again.
“I’m sorry.”

James shrugged. “I know. Now
back to the news. Did you hear about Merrick?”

“Yeah, I caught some of that
chatter on the way in.” She stared at the table.

“You don’t approve?”

“I think blood typing is wrong,
that’s all.”

He shook his head. “We have a
pandemic on our hands Meygan. If blood typing doesn’t fix it, then what will?”

Her eyes met his. “I don’t
know,” she whispered. “I just know that if you force everyone, mutant, half
human, vampire, anyone, it is a wrong decision. I’ve always believed that in my
heart. We shouldn’t have to do that.”

“Well, I think it’s the only
way to slow the spread of the mutation. There isn’t a place on this world that
is safe anymore.”

Meygan shook her head at
James’s stubbornness.

He smiled at her. “You’ll see,
it’ll work.”

She sighed aloud. Several
minutes went by in silence between the two of them. “There was a red light on
in the hallway this morning,” she finally stated, breaking the tension between
the two of them.

“An alpha died?” James blurted
out, shocked by her statement.

She toyed with one of her pens.
“I heard screaming in the middle of the night again.”

Her friend stared intently at
her face, hoping she would elaborate. “Any idea who it was?”

She shook her head.

He looked back down at the
blacktop. “I guess the latest antidote didn’t work. Either that or the
mutation’s spreading. The sooner we isolate the gene the better.”

Before Meygan could respond a
buzzer went off and an adult appeared from the hallway. The lady walked in with
a large briefcase and placed it on the table in the front of the room. She wore
a white lab coat over light blue scrubs, and her brown hair was twisted away
from her face into a bun. She turned towards the others.

“Good morning. We have research
to do this day. It seems our latest drug is still missing an enzyme to isolate
the mutant gene. We need to do more testing to improve this.” She reached into
her briefcase and pulled out several manila folders filled with paper. She
passed them out to the lab desks. “Inside you’ll find all the materials you’ll
need to study these new formulas for the drug. I would like a detailed report
on the chemical structure of the drug, including possible side effects that
might occur from using it. I would also like to know if the formula could
isolate the mutant gene and keep it from replicating. Please have the reports
on my desk before midday
break.” The lady left the room taking her briefcase with her.

LeoDuhVinci:
Absolutely loved this story. I'm a sucker for Sci Fi and Forever Roman knocks it out of the park. Read it- you won't regret it.Good concept with immortality, great story with fast paced development, and incredible execution. Extremely creative.To the author: Keep the great work coming! I can'...

Deleted User:
This is a very clever story in the style of 19th century (and turn of the century) Gothic writing, very reminiscent of Stevenson's The Body Snatchers or even of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (less so of Frankenstein itself, since the author is more minimalist than Shelley's florid, Romantic rhetoric). ...

Nymeria:
Really can't get enough of this story. It flows well, it captivates the reader from page 1, and throws you into such a well-written, well conceptualized world that you'll believe it's real. Everything in the book is meshed together really well. From character backgrounds to plot twists, you can t...

Raymond Keith Moon:
Great story arc. Nice command of the balance of overview and detail. Feels a bit like a multi-player computer game, but provides satisfying explanations for all the apparent magic. Please keep writing!

Kayla Wentz:
This book had me hooked from the beginning! I kept coming back for more. It only took me a day to read! I couldn't put it down! Absolutely A-Mazing! This book keep the story going and there's never a dull moment!

:
This story was gripping and very professionally written. With lots of twists and slight of hand tricks, the author deceives the reader until finally showing their cards at the end. With several subplots all intertwining to create the main plot, this really is an interesting and engaging read.

Hawkebat:
Playing both Kotor I & II and Swtor I found the story line interesting and it held me until chapter 35 Very good story and plot flow until then, very few technical errors. I felt that the main character was a bit under and over powered, as it fought for balance. The last few chapters felt too f...

_JosephJacobson_:
I don't understand why this has such low ratings. I really enjoyed it!I think that the whole idea behind the plot had something very special and that was something that I really enjoyed. It was new, unique. I think that some of the writing was a little strange in places but overall it made sense ...

Roger A. Fauble:
Excellent read, the only thing not to like is that I could only read it at home on my computer. I'm a character reader, I get into the characters, their story, who/what they are. In this story characters are introduced and developed allowing you to really get into them. Next the story is develop...